The Prisoner of War

[Orca]

The prisoner dude left, Orca watching him warily all the while. Azrael spoke to him, and the shapeshifter's attention turned back to the seer, who sounded a bit snappy. If Orca had been the type to pout, he would've there, but as it was he merely shuffled a foot a bit.

"My opinion, sir?" He thought briefly, even managing to contain his customary "ummmm" that usually so frequently punctuated his sentences.

"I agree with your ideas, sir. Even if somehow he did decide to go off and tell people you started this, they wouldn't believe him. That's if he was even able to escape your men, or whatever." He paused again, thoroughly thinking his words through. That was good, right?

"An' with him off terrorizin' Avaren, the city'll be jumpin' to send you men to increase th' city's strength!" The shapeshifter's formerly demure manner vanished into bright awe, and he grinned at his boss. "It's such a good plan, sir!"

A thought struck him, and he calmed a bit. "Though.. the only thing that worries me, boss, is the potential threat of others hearin' 'bout that guy attacking Avaren and wanting to take advantage of the city while they're distracted with dealin' with him. Like, other bad guys?" He couldn't think of the proper word to call those types, so he went with the simple. He wasn't no scholar. That was a whole different branch of the tree. "Though... I guess that could still work for ya, 'cause then they'd just wanna send you more power, huh?"

He beamed. Azrael sure was smart, thinkin' all this through. He, Orca, could never manage that.

[Azzy]

Azrael frowned slightly. He had been rather caught up in his plan and the potential benefits it could reap for himself and the kingdom. Evidently, he hadn't thought his plan through as much as he should have. Of course, that was the benefit of second opinions, they often found things that originally went unseen.

"Yes, that could potentially pose a problem. I figure it likely isn't as much of a direct threat to Avaren if we get attacked by forces outside and that man at the same time. If the entire point is to get Avaren to mobilize a militia and get their act together, then it wouldn't be his problem or the problem of the Vigil. However, if he betrays me and coordinates with our enemies, that might be a bigger threat."

"So, what do you propose we could do to ensure the safety of the kingdom while keeping the fundamental aspect of this plan together?"

[Orca]

"I guess keep a tight watch on him, sir, so we can move accordin'ly?" He wasn't really sure what to say, here. He wasn't the genius mastermind, after all. No, he was just the simple-minded shepherd boy who happened to be okay with a sword. Oh right, there was that whole shapeshifting bit too, but c'mon, how was being able to turn into a mountain goat going to help with this sort of thing?

"We wouldn' wanna wipe him out too soon, but, like, you said, it wouldn't be good if he teamed up with other bad- with other enemies. I'd like to say he's smart enough to know not t' double-cross you, boss, but I don't really know the guy, so..." He shrugged. "What do you think, sir?"

[Azzy]

"No, keeping watch on him wouldn't go so well, I don't think. For that to work we would have to have more people in on the plan in order to act accordingly. I'm not particularly fond of that idea either, for I doubt most are clear thinking enough to examine my plan objectively."

Azrael almost wished Orca hadn't brought up that point, for it did not sit well with him. Mainly due to the fact that there wasn't all that much he could hope to do to fix the problem. Basically, it seemed it was destined to simply weigh on his mind while he went through with the plan just the same.

"I think we just need to see what happens and hope for the best. I mean, he is only one man. Even if he joined up with a larger force, how much more damage could he cause?"